Southside

September 9, 2013
The debut novel from Krikorian, a Los Angeles Times crime reporter, is a grim thriller that brings a sense of bleak reality to the streets of Los Angeles. Michael Lyons is a flamboyant 12-year L.A. Times veteran specializing in gangs and well known for his ability to humanize the most thuggish criminal. When Lyons is shot and wounded in front of his favorite bar in broad daylight, his colleagues eagerly speculate about who is responsible. An outraged husband? A disgruntled gang member? Or Lyons himself, as an elaborate publicity stunt? After recovering, Lyons begins his own investigation, one that takes him through the gritty and melancholy streets of L.A. and through interviews with the grieving parents of murdered or incarcerated young men. Meanwhile, Lyons’s assailant targets more victims, setting the whole city on edge. Krikorian’s language is stark, graphic, and bitterly humorous, not unlike that of George Pelecanos. Though this book could use some fine-tuning, it moves with speed and purpose.

September 15, 2013

Mike Lyons has made a name for himself as a gang reporter in Los Angeles, mixing with some of the city's most dangerous gang members. As he leaves a bar one day, Mike is shot twice and survives but has no idea who's gunning for him. After all, there are plenty of suspects to choose from. Unfortunately, an audiotape surfaces with Mike telling a gang leader how getting shot and surviving can garner instant respect, and the chief of police is eager to embarrass a reporter who has smeared the LAPD one too many times. However, Mike, who didn't set up his own shooting, is determined to find the shooter before he finishes him off. When others are attacked, a startling connection among the crimes becomes clear. VERDICT Former Los Angeles Times reporter Krikorian takes his readers on a quick and dirty ride through some of the most dangerous territory in L.A. in this fast-moving debut crime story of revenge and murder. The author knows his territory and isn't afraid to highlight the terrifying reality of gang life as well as the very human stories at its core, without ever resorting to cliche. His sparse style will appeal to readers who like their crime fiction no-nonsense and full of realistic grit.--Kristin Centorcelli, Denton, TX

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2013
Los Angeles-based reporter Krikorian's debut novel dips heavily into his background writing about gangs for West Coast newspapers. Michael Lyons covers the gang beat at the Los Angeles Times and has spent the past few years interviewing gang members, opposing gangs, their relatives and the families of their victims. Somewhere along the way, Lyons apparently stepped on someone's toes, and the reporter ends up with two shots to the torso, bleeding out on a sidewalk in LA. Soon, police have their hands full trying to solve the attempted murder of the well-known reporter who could have been the target of any number of gang members. But the list narrows after a while, and a man known to the gang world as "Big Evil" becomes the focus of the investigation. At least, that's the case until a tape surfaces of Lyons talking about how the act of being shot in the torso would give him a lot of "street cred." The police, convinced that Lyons engineered his own hit, put less emphasis on the investigation, and he's fired from the Times; even his own girlfriend, a beautiful and famous chef, deserts him. So Lyons decides to find out who did it himself, and this takes him even deeper into gang territory. In this thinly disguised roman a clef, the main character is indistinguishable from the author, who includes many of his narrowly fictionalized associates in the book. Although the tale showcases Krikorian's deep knowledge of the street gangs that dominate LA's underworld, the author relies strictly on slang and gang parlance to flavor the book, rarely explaining the significance of the gang members' language or actions. A reader who doesn't mind wading through the often indecipherable street patois might find this book hits the spot, but for most, it won't be enough to balance out the ragged plot and undeveloped characters that plague this maiden effort.

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